I dis agree with the need to switch to a 4-3.
Given the talent we have now we are far bettersuited for the 3-4.
If we switch to a 4-3 we willneed two speedy edge rushers to play 4-3 DE. We will need a MLB with speed to cover sideline to sideline and we will need at least one other OLB to compliment Davis.

On the other hand, all wee need is two OLBs and we have the makings of an awesome 3-4 defense.

General philosophy: There's no franchise QB coming in this year's draft or FA class, so use this offseason to clear the decks for 2014 and put yourself in a situation that, if a QB option becomes available next offseason, you can maximize their chances of success. (Translation: Yes, punt 2013). Also, given the personnel, the D needs to move to a 4-3 as its base formation.

With that in mind:

Cuts/Restructures:
JasonSmith(this is a player who can be kept at a backup salary, but not at 12M, obviously. Savings: 12M)
Calvin Pace (Savings: 8.56M)
Bart Scott (Savings: 7.15M. He's made noises about taking a pay cut to stay, and that would be worth exploring - drop him to 2M and you save 5M in space)
Sione Pouha (Savings: 3.83M. This is a tough one - I like the player, and he's still effective when healthy. But he's not likely to figure in your 2014 plans and Ellis and Harrison need playing time to develop)
Eric Smith (Savings: 3M)
Mark Sanchez (Savings: -4.3M. Yes, cutting Sanchez actually costs more than keeping him. But cutting him now saves 4.8M in 2014 cap room - and if we're punting 2013 to make a run in 2014-16, I'd rather have the cap room then, and it eliminates the circus keeping him would cause)
Tim Tebow (cut or trade. Savings: 1.53M)

Total Savings: 33.87M that would put the team at roughly 108.5M against a projected cap of around 126.5M (I'm assuming, per reports, the cap will stay relatively flat next year), plus roughly 5M in unused cap space from this year that would be rolled over to next year, for a total available cap room of ~23M

1 (9): Chance Warmack (OG) - Solidifies the interior line by drafting an immediate starter and potential pro-bowler on the right side. Put Ducasse or Schlauderoff between Mangold and Ferguson, and Warmack next to Howard, and the Jets have a more than passable OL to put a rookie QB behind in 2014 (with the two weak spots to be fixed in future years)
2 (39): Alex Okafor (DE/OLB) (can flex between 4-3DE and 3-4OLB while providing pass rush skills)
3 (73): Marcus Latimore (RB) (if available, the perfect pick for a team playing for 2014. If already selected, best available OT or RB)
4-7: High floor players at OT, 4-3LB, S, OG

That's 46 players, with the final 7 to be filled in by a combination of draft picks (rounds 4-7) and interchangeable UDFAs/lower tier FA signings. It's a thin roster, but very good on D (though McIntyre may be a disaster as a 4-3 LB) and with a passable O. For 2014, the Jets would need to replace or extend Howard and Ducasse, and replace Bell at safety (and potentially Revis at CB), and land a QB and RB, and upgrade at LB, but would be in excellent cap position to do so, while also extending Wilkerson, Revis, Kerley and other key players. If Sanchez, Scott, Tebow and Pouha are cut this offseason, the Jets would have only 68.8M in cap costs heading into 2014, plus the hits from the 2013 FA signings/draftees. At the numbers above, that's 7.5M for Landry, 1.25 for Braylon, 3.5 for Walker, 3.5 for DeVito, 3M for Hillis, and ~2M for whichever of Campbell/Moore won the starting job in 2013 (the loser gets cut in the 2014 offseason). That takes the Jets' 2014 cap commitments to ~89.5M, leaving them with 30+M to upgrade the roster for their next window of competitiveness. That's a team with the foundation, given the right QB and other signings, to win a championship.

Bottom line, the goal in this offseason should be clearing the decks for a run in 2014 and beyond, not a patch job to try and make this team crawl into the 2013 playoffs.

Indeed. We need to clear out the cap nightmare AND clear the air! Keeping Sanchez because the PRIOR GM wrote a stupid contract is not smart for our long term future.

Per Sanchez and his contract: what really gets me, and what nobody has thought to mention is this: Where the eff was Woody Johnson when Mike Tannenbaum was giving millions of his dollars away to the worst QB in the league? Tannenbaum doesn't sign the checks, Johnson had to OK it...oh yea that's right Woody Johnson was too busy and more concerned with getting Mitt Romney elected president. He even publicly stated that the election was more important to him than the Jets and football. THIS is what we Jets fans are stuck with for an owner-a guy who owns a football team like we had our baseball card collections when we were kids. Anybody else still think Woody winning that bid over the Dolans was a better thing? At least the Jets would be playing in the coolest stadium in all of sports on the West Side of Manhattan that said JETS STADIUM

General philosophy: There's no franchise QB coming in this year's draft or FA class, so use this offseason to clear the decks for 2014 and put yourself in a situation that, if a QB option becomes available next offseason, you can maximize their chances of success. (Translation: Yes, punt 2013). Also, given the personnel, the D needs to move to a 4-3 as its base formation.

With that in mind:

Cuts/Restructures:
JasonSmith(this is a player who can be kept at a backup salary, but not at 12M, obviously. Savings: 12M)
Calvin Pace (Savings: 8.56M)
Bart Scott (Savings: 7.15M. He's made noises about taking a pay cut to stay, and that would be worth exploring - drop him to 2M and you save 5M in space)
Sione Pouha (Savings: 3.83M. This is a tough one - I like the player, and he's still effective when healthy. But he's not likely to figure in your 2014 plans and Ellis and Harrison need playing time to develop)
Eric Smith (Savings: 3M)
Mark Sanchez (Savings: -4.3M. Yes, cutting Sanchez actually costs more than keeping him. But cutting him now saves 4.8M in 2014 cap room - and if we're punting 2013 to make a run in 2014-16, I'd rather have the cap room then, and it eliminates the circus keeping him would cause)
Tim Tebow (cut or trade. Savings: 1.53M)

Total Savings: 33.87M that would put the team at roughly 108.5M against a projected cap of around 126.5M (I'm assuming, per reports, the cap will stay relatively flat next year), plus roughly 5M in unused cap space from this year that would be rolled over to next year, for a total available cap room of ~23M

1 (9): Chance Warmack (OG) - Solidifies the interior line by drafting an immediate starter and potential pro-bowler on the right side. Put Ducasse or Schlauderoff between Mangold and Ferguson, and Warmack next to Howard, and the Jets have a more than passable OL to put a rookie QB behind in 2014 (with the two weak spots to be fixed in future years)
2 (39): Alex Okafor (DE/OLB) (can flex between 4-3DE and 3-4OLB while providing pass rush skills)
3 (73): Marcus Latimore (RB) (if available, the perfect pick for a team playing for 2014. If already selected, best available OT or RB)
4-7: High floor players at OT, 4-3LB, S, OG

That's 46 players, with the final 7 to be filled in by a combination of draft picks (rounds 4-7) and interchangeable UDFAs/lower tier FA signings. It's a thin roster, but very good on D (though McIntyre may be a disaster as a 4-3 LB) and with a passable O. For 2014, the Jets would need to replace or extend Howard and Ducasse, and replace Bell at safety (and potentially Revis at CB), and land a QB and RB, and upgrade at LB, but would be in excellent cap position to do so, while also extending Wilkerson, Revis, Kerley and other key players. If Sanchez, Scott, Tebow and Pouha are cut this offseason, the Jets would have only 68.8M in cap costs heading into 2014, plus the hits from the 2013 FA signings/draftees. At the numbers above, that's 7.5M for Landry, 1.25 for Braylon, 3.5 for Walker, 3.5 for DeVito, 3M for Hillis, and ~2M for whichever of Campbell/Moore won the starting job in 2013 (the loser gets cut in the 2014 offseason). That takes the Jets' 2014 cap commitments to ~89.5M, leaving them with 30+M to upgrade the roster for their next window of competitiveness. That's a team with the foundation, given the right QB and other signings, to win a championship.

Bottom line, the goal in this offseason should be clearing the decks for a run in 2014 and beyond, not a patch job to try and make this team crawl into the 2013 playoffs.

Well done...........how many games will the Jets win with that roster?

I'd rather Driskel. People drooling over Manziel must not watch a lot of his games. He is 6 ft, 200lbs, and runs an Air Raid system. I'd take him in the 2nd but not #1 overall. He is a faster Ty Detmer!

General philosophy: There's no franchise QB coming in this year's draft or FA class, so use this offseason to clear the decks for 2014 and put yourself in a situation that, if a QB option becomes available next offseason, you can maximize their chances of success. (Translation: Yes, punt 2013). Also, given the personnel, the D needs to move to a 4-3 as its base formation.

With that in mind:

Cuts/Restructures:
JasonSmith(this is a player who can be kept at a backup salary, but not at 12M, obviously. Savings: 12M)
Calvin Pace (Savings: 8.56M)
Bart Scott (Savings: 7.15M. He's made noises about taking a pay cut to stay, and that would be worth exploring - drop him to 2M and you save 5M in space)
Sione Pouha (Savings: 3.83M. This is a tough one - I like the player, and he's still effective when healthy. But he's not likely to figure in your 2014 plans and Ellis and Harrison need playing time to develop)
Eric Smith (Savings: 3M)
Mark Sanchez (Savings: -4.3M. Yes, cutting Sanchez actually costs more than keeping him. But cutting him now saves 4.8M in 2014 cap room - and if we're punting 2013 to make a run in 2014-16, I'd rather have the cap room then, and it eliminates the circus keeping him would cause)
Tim Tebow (cut or trade. Savings: 1.53M)

Total Savings: 33.87M that would put the team at roughly 108.5M against a projected cap of around 126.5M (I'm assuming, per reports, the cap will stay relatively flat next year), plus roughly 5M in unused cap space from this year that would be rolled over to next year, for a total available cap room of ~23M

1 (9): Chance Warmack (OG) - Solidifies the interior line by drafting an immediate starter and potential pro-bowler on the right side. Put Ducasse or Schlauderoff between Mangold and Ferguson, and Warmack next to Howard, and the Jets have a more than passable OL to put a rookie QB behind in 2014 (with the two weak spots to be fixed in future years)
2 (39): Alex Okafor (DE/OLB) (can flex between 4-3DE and 3-4OLB while providing pass rush skills)
3 (73): Marcus Latimore (RB) (if available, the perfect pick for a team playing for 2014. If already selected, best available OT or RB)
4-7: High floor players at OT, 4-3LB, S, OG

That's 46 players, with the final 7 to be filled in by a combination of draft picks (rounds 4-7) and interchangeable UDFAs/lower tier FA signings. It's a thin roster, but very good on D (though McIntyre may be a disaster as a 4-3 LB) and with a passable O. For 2014, the Jets would need to replace or extend Howard and Ducasse, and replace Bell at safety (and potentially Revis at CB), and land a QB and RB, and upgrade at LB, but would be in excellent cap position to do so, while also extending Wilkerson, Revis, Kerley and other key players. If Sanchez, Scott, Tebow and Pouha are cut this offseason, the Jets would have only 68.8M in cap costs heading into 2014, plus the hits from the 2013 FA signings/draftees. At the numbers above, that's 7.5M for Landry, 1.25 for Braylon, 3.5 for Walker, 3.5 for DeVito, 3M for Hillis, and ~2M for whichever of Campbell/Moore won the starting job in 2013 (the loser gets cut in the 2014 offseason). That takes the Jets' 2014 cap commitments to ~89.5M, leaving them with 30+M to upgrade the roster for their next window of competitiveness. That's a team with the foundation, given the right QB and other signings, to win a championship.

Bottom line, the goal in this offseason should be clearing the decks for a run in 2014 and beyond, not a patch job to try and make this team crawl into the 2013 playoffs.

In total agreement with you about the "punt". No more bandaids we need to start building for the future, and if that means eating some bad contracts then so be it. I'll take another losing season if I know we have a plan in place for the future with the new GM/HC.

The only thing is that, if we are talking about "punting the season", then Revis needs to be addressed as well. I say we trade him for picks, and sign a cheap #2 to go along side Cro. If you don't address Revis (Trade him, re-sign him) He will walk for free in 2014.....

Per Sanchez and his contract: what really gets me, and what nobody has thought to mention is this: Where the eff was Woody Johnson when Mike Tannenbaum was giving millions of his dollars away to the worst QB in the league? Tannenbaum doesn't sign the checks, Johnson had to OK it...oh yea that's right Woody Johnson was too busy and more concerned with getting Mitt Romney elected president. He even publicly stated that the election was more important to him than the Jets and football. THIS is what we Jets fans are stuck with for an owner-a guy who owns a football team like we had our baseball card collections when we were kids. Anybody else still think Woody winning that bid over the Dolans was a better thing? At least the Jets would be playing in the coolest stadium in all of sports on the West Side of Manhattan that said JETS STADIUM